Third baseman Will Middlebrooks hit three homers and doubled Sunday in Boston’s 13-0 rout in Toronto.

The 24-year-old Middlebrooks became the first player to hit three homers in a game this year, and he’s the youngest player to accomplish the feat since the Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen on Aug. 1, 2009. He was the first member of the Red Sox to pull it off since Dustin Pedroia did it on June 24, 2010 against the Rockies.

Given a chance to go for a fourth homer in the eighth, Middlebrooks flew out to the warning track in left field.

The game featured an odd moment in the top of the fifth, when Edwin Encarnacion opted to play behind Jackie Bradley Jr. on first base with the Jays down 8-0. Bradley took off for second, only to see a foul ball return him to first base. Encarnacion immediately resumed holding him on afterwards, and there were no repercussions when Bradley came to the plate in the seventh. One imagines there would have been had Bradley been running in the seventh or eighth inning instead.

But while not holding runners on in blowouts is a somewhat common occurrence, there’s no way a team should be doing it in the first half of an 8-0 game. More than just about any other team in baseball, the Jays are capable of scoring eight runs in five innings. In Boston’s September 2011 collapse, the Jays once scored six runs in the seventh and eighth innings to beat the Red Sox 11-10.

Why not paper airplanes?????? That was fkn awesome! Between the paper airplanes and the 2 streakers, Jays fans more than made up for the blowout. Us Canadians always find a way to make light of a dull moment.

It is much too early in the season to make broad definitive statements. Dickey coughed up a hairball in his third start last year and still had a fine season. As far as Middlebrooks is concerned, it is a bit early to send him to the breeders shed. One game does not make a season.

proudlycanadian - Apr 7, 2013 at 5:56 PM

A couple of other big name starters who stunk today are Matt Cain and Stephen Strasburg. Should they also be sent to the trash bin because of a bad game?

Proudly … Again your naming a young stud on the rise and a proven two time World Series winner in Cain . Dickey had three good years . All in the NL with the mets . His best ERA playing for an American League team has been a 4.62 . Besides that any full year pitched in the AL has been a 5 era or way above .

cur68 - Apr 8, 2013 at 12:15 AM

ienjoy: keep telling yourself that. As anyone who knows ANYTHING about RA Dickey knows, he was so successful with the Mets because that was the team that allowed him to throw knuckle ball. When he was a Twin he was ordered not to. Mauer couldn’t handle it. Once he was allowed to have the KB as his primary pitch and he’d had a chance to groove it up, he was money. For three straight seasons he was outstanding.

A bad start is not any reason to panic. Season’s just begun.

mornelithe - Apr 7, 2013 at 4:14 PM

Pretty impressive game from WMB all around today, not only was he a one man wrecking crew at the plate, his defense was top notch as well.

Tough outting for Dickey and Toronto’s BP, but they shut ‘em down yesterday, so it’s not all doom and gloom. I do wonder if the AL East has been primed to deal with knuckleballers though, over the past decade, given Wake’s presence (up until last year, of course).

Wake never pitched against the sox. Plus when wake was on, he was ON. When he wasn’t he looked like dickey today.
Knuckler comes and goes. Look up wakes first seasons in the majors. He was a candidate for cy young his first season. Pirates released him two seasons later because he stunk.

I’m aware that the Sox never faced Wake, but to say a pitcher with a unique/difficult to hit pitching style wouldn’t prep his team for similar pitchers, seems a bit silly to me.

Either way, the rest of the season should tell the tale, too early to call it now. Which is why I said, I wonder, and not, jesus the AL East murders knuckleballers.

oldpaddy - Apr 7, 2013 at 5:06 PM

When wake was pitching there was only one other knuckler in mlb and he pitched in the nl. That guy was named dickey and he threw a knuckler in the 70’s. Wake threw his in the 50’s. HUGE difference.
Wake hasn’t pitched since ’11, not many sox left from ’11.
I’m really not seeing the connection between wake pitching for the sox two years ago and dickey getting rocked today.
Maybe the sox were prepped for the knuckler because both pitchers were born in america and pitched on the east coast?

Lester back? No way,Uyf said spring training didn’t show anything. having Farrell back wasn’t going to help Lester and Bucholz.
He should be around soon to minimize the sox pitching or hitting.The yanks won.When they lose,all we hear is crickets.

Where’s all the turds who said Middlebrooks’ power was overrated in March? I recall a lot of skepticism posts on him. Will is the real deal. He just needs to walk more. I recall most of the Will bashers were Jays fans. So….. As they say…. Ha. Ha.